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Saturday, 11 August 2012

Here it is, the Top 5 Big Game Scorers in the history of Football. All are well known superstars, and after taking thousands of goals and matches into account, the top player is revealed. To see numbers 10-6, click here

5. Zinedine Zidane (France) 1988-2006 / 33 points – 10 goals

In at number 5 is the man that many believe was able to break the Maradona/Pele stranglehold on the best player of all time title. And part of that can be attributed to his performance in big games. Although an attacking midfielder, he wasn’t in the Maradona, Platini and Lampard gang of prolific scorers. In an 18 year professional career, he got double figures on just six occasions, with his highest season total being 12. However, as you probably know, he stepped up on the biggest stages. The most recent player to score in two World Cup Finals, Zizou scored a headed double in 1998 and then a pretty much perfect penalty in the 2006 Final against Buffon, which also had added pressure as he’d announced it would be his last game as a professional. What a great way to bow out…. And it wasn’t just the World Cup that he excelled in. The successful Euro 2000 campaign for France saw Zidane put his country through in the Semi Final against Portugal (who must have a deep dislike of him after he repeated the trick in the 2006 World Cup semi final). In club football, he was equally adept at stepping up in the biggest games, most notably in the 2002 Champions League Final where he did this:A perfect volley into the top corner from a looping cross on his weaker foot? Not a problem. That goal also won the trophy for the Madrid. And whilst that was his most notable goal in a great club career, he also scored plenty of other significant goals. Many forget the semi final goal against bitter rivals Barcelona at the Nou Camp (seen here), whilst his time at Juventus was also memorable, if a touch unlucky as he lost two finals with the Turin giants. In the 1997 Champions League Semi Final, Zidane scored against Ajax, before scoring against Monaco at the same stage a year later, before going on to lose the finals to Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively. In fact, his Champions League campaigns involving Juventus generally didn’t end too well, with his former club knocking out Real Madrid at the same stage in 2003, despite Zidane’s goal in a 4-3 aggregate loss.

He was of course much much more than about goals, but the fact that he stepped up with so many high pressure big game goals, only added to the high regard he was held in. There’s a greatarticlethat makes a pretty good case for comparing Rivaldo to Zidane, and rightly so, however, doesn’t quite match Zidane’s achievements and ability to impact the very biggest games so consistently – surely something that warrants the Frenchman’s placing in the history of football.Cesare Maldini when manager of the 1998 Italy World Cup squad said that he’d give up five of his players for one Zidane, but perhaps Franz Beckenbauer sums up Zidane the best:Beckenbauer on Zidane “Zidane is one of the greatest players in history, a truly magnificent player…….Zidane is unique, The ball flows with him. He’s more like a dancer than a footballer“

4. Ferenc Puskas (Hungary) 1943-1966 / 40 points – 15 goals

Yet another one of the dominant Real Madrid team of the 50s and 60s, Ferenc Puskas holds the distinction of scoring two hat tricks in the finals of the European Cup, in fact one of them was actually a four goal haul. He also had the distinction of playing for different countries at the World Cup – firstly Hungary and later on Spain. But more on that later.A dominant part of three great teams, Puskas first came to prominence playing for the Hungarian military team Honved where he earned the nickname “the Galloping Major”, whilst playing alongside fellow Hungarian legends Czibor and Kocsis. He won five titles in his time with them and the golden boot in four seasons – including a 50 goal season in 1947-48, which was the highest in Europe. But it wasn’t with Honved that Puskas became known and feared around Europe, it was with his national team – the Mighty Magyars. He would eventually go on to score a massive 84 goals in 85 appearances for his (first country) and in that time they beat England 6-3 at Wembley and 7-1 away (unheard of then) as well as going on a 32 game unbeaten run that saw them win the 1952 Olympics (with Puskas scoring in the Final) that ended at the worst possible time – the 1954 World Cup Final. In the Final, Puskas showed his big game temperament once again as he put the favourites 1-0 up after just six minutes. That lead became 2-0 before West Germany managed to turn the game around and win 3-2 in a match that came to be known as the Miracle of Bern.After leaving Hungary in 1956 on a tour around Europe, Puskas was one of many who refused to return to Hungary. As a result he received a 2 year ban from FIFA. Once the ban had ended, he was turend down by clubs in Italy and was denied a move to Manchester United before Real Madrid took a gamble on the overweight 31 year old. And it didn’t end too badly for him. In his first season, he scored two goals in the European Cup semi final against neighbours Atletico as Real went on to retain the trophy. The following year he really made his mark. In a semi final against rivals Barcelona, Puskas scored three goals over the two legs to put Real in their fifth straight Final – and it was in this Final that his legendary status at Madrid would be cemented. Facing Eintracht Frankfurt, Puskas scored four goals in a 7-3 win:.And of course, he wasn’t done there. After a year off, Madrid were back in the final in 1962, and juts to prove it wasn’t a fluke before, Puskas scored another hat trick in the final – although unfortunately for him, he was facing a Eusebio inspired Benfica who scored five to his three. Not to worry though, him and Real Madrid won the trophy again in 1966 with the big 39 year old striker scoring four goals in one game against Feyenoord along the way. So a World Cup Final goal, an Olympic Final goal, and two European Cup Final hat tricks. That pretty much settles any debate (if there was any). He went on to manage several teams, most notably taking Panathinaikos to the European Cup Final in 1971 (the only time a Greek club has ever reached that stage) and in 2002, the Hungarian national team stadium was renamed in his honour.

3. Pele (Brazil) 1956-1977 / 40.5 points – 13 goals

Where to start with Pele? How about some modest words from the man himself: “Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele”. Well he is the only man to have won three World Cups, but personally, I wanted to be Tony Cottee. Even still, he is generally considered to be one of the holy trilogy of the greatest of all time. Scorer of over 1,000 goals, Pele will be judged by some due to never playing in European leagues – though this wasn’t necessarrily his fault, like Eusebio, Pele was banned from leaving Brazil – certainly in his prime anyway. As you’d expect, 3 World Cups + Brazil’s all time top scorer (77) = some big game goals. A truly innovative player who’s near misses are almost as famous as his goals (this is the bestone, but there’s also the halfway line shot and the Banks save), Pele burst onto the global scene during the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Aged just 17, Pele scored six times, all in the knock out stages. First up was the winner as Wales were defeated 1-0 in the Quarters. From then, things really took off. Facing Just Fontaine’s France (the only player to outscore him at that tournament), Pele scored a hat trick in a 5-2 win – proving to be the difference on the day. And the momentum kept going as in the Final the teenager did this:

One of two goals that day, Brazil won their first World Cup and a legend was born. He played and scored at both the 1962 and 1966 World Cup’s but injuries (fouls) robbed him of playing the full tournament. In fact the “attention” he was receiving from opposition defenders in 1966 led him to declare that he’d never play in the World Cup again. Luckily for us, Brazil and the 1970 World Cup, he changed his mind – spearheading the Brazil team considered to be the best in history. Scoring four goals along the way, including the opener in the Final, Pele also racked up five assists, including two in the 4-1 win over Italy to win their third title and the Jules Rimet trophy for keeps. It was his crowning performance in what was a glittering career:He also did pretty well for his club team Santos as well. Although not quite as prolifc as Alberto Spencer, Pele did end Penarol’s dominance in the tournament as Santos became just the second team to win the tournament in 1962. With the two legged final ending level on aggregate, Santos had the returning Pele for the Play Off, and he didn’t disappoint with two goals in a 3-0 win for the Brazilians. A year later he was even more deadly, scoring a four goals in the two legged semi against Jairzinho’s Botafogo (including a hat trick in the away leg), before scoring again in the second leg of the final against Argentina’s Boca Juniors to claim his and Santos’ second title. In what was a good tournament for Pele, he also won the golden boot in the 1965 season.Since retiring from football, he’s made a good career in comedy by getting into very public arguments with Maradona (who doesn’t?), saying that Nicky Butt was the player of the 2002 World Cup and doing adverts for viagra even though he made it very clear that he never need to use one. As entertaining as that’s all been, very few have or will ever be able to entertain on the pitch the way Pele did. A complete original, a genius, prolific in front of goal, provider of great goals, and inventor of iconic moments. He’s best summed up by Italy’s defender in the 1970 Final, Tarcisio Burgnich:
“I told myself before the game, ‘he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else’ — but I was wrong“

2. Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina) 1945-1966/ 45 points – 19 goals

Much of what was said for Puskas can be repeated for his strike partner Di Stefano – apart from serving for the Hungarian Army that is. It’s more the games scored in then, and the fact that like Puskas, Di Stefano wasn’t particularly bothered about his nationality – also appearing for Spain as well as his native of Argentina, and also for one time home, Colombia. He also qualified for Italy.Di Stefano spent 11 seasons with Real Madrid after playing for River Plate of Argentina and Millonarios of Colombia, despite not signing until he was 27. But it could have been very different – Di Stefano was destined for Madrid’s great rivals Barcelona until complications allowed Real to nip in at the last minute to at first share him with the Catalan club before eventually owning him outright. At one point there was a scenario where he’d play alternate seasons for each club – it’s hard to imagine that’d work out too well today. And Barcelona’s loss was certainly Real Madrid’s gain as the capital club went on to win the first five European Cups in a row, and whilst Puskas’ input was instrumental, no one had a bigger hand in the era of dominance than Di Stefano. Of the five European Cup wins from 1956 to 1960, Di Stefano scored in every single Final – including a hat trick in the 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.And it wasn’t just the Finals that he excelled in. Starting with inaugural tournament in 1955-56, where there were just 16 teams competing, Di Stefano scored in the semi final win over AC Milan (5-4 agg) before going on to score Madrid’s first goal in the final against Stade Reims as they won 4-3 against Hibernian’s conquerors. A year later he repeated thhe trick with a semi final strike against Matt Busby’s youngsters before going on to score the first goal in the Final win against Fiorentina. And his knack of scoring important goals would continue into the next season. After a hat trick against Hungarian’s Vasas in the semi final, Di Stefano scored Madrid’s first goal for the third conscutive Final – this time an equaliser against AC Milan, in a 3-2 win. The 1959 Final saw him score against Stade Reims who would no doubt be sick of the sight of him, this time in a 2-0 after he scored both home and away in the semi final win against city rivals Atletico Madrid. And the fifth and final consecutive European Cup win was arguably the best, with a famous 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Di Stefano once again scored Madrid’s opener and in fact their second as well, on the way to a hat trick in a match considered by many to be one of the greatest of all time. Perhaps just as importantly, he scored a brace in the semi final win over Barcelona. In what was a recurring pattern, not only would he score important goals, but he’d also step up in the games against rivals – with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid on the end of his goals.So there you have it, the Alberto Spencer of the European Cup and undobtedly a big game player. The only disappointment was that he only did it in one competition. Everyone else in the Top 10 scored in multiple competitions, with most impacting the World Cup. Unfortunately for Di Stefano, Argentina refused to participate at the 1954 tournament, Spain failed to qualify in 1958 and he was injured for the 1962 edition – meaning Di Stefano would join a list of greats never to play on the biggest stagewith the likes of George Best, George Weah, Ryan Giggs and Julian Dicks.And it wasn’t just his playing career that was eventful, moving into management, he memorably led both Boca Juniors and River Plate to national league titles, whilst in Spain he won the League, the cup and European Cup Winners Cup with Valencia. However, he couldn’t quite replicate that success with his beloved Real – finishing second in the league, the Copa del Rey, the Cup Winners Cup, Supercopa de Espana and the Copa de la Liga – five runners up medals!Eusebio described the Blonde Arrow as “the most complete footballer in the history of the game”. Not a bad way to be described if you’re a footballer.

1. Gerd Muller (Germany) 1963-1981 / 51 points – 16 goals

And at number one is a player that scored 68 goals in 62 Internationals for his country, and who scored in the Final and Semi Finals of the three biggest tournaments possible. Gerd Muller, known as ‘Der Bomber’ was a prolific striker for every team he played for and in every competition. In total, he scored 655 goals in just 709 games – and these don’t include the types of goals that Romario counted, these were real goals. He was top scorer in the European Cup, The World Cup, the European Championships, the Bundesliga, and probably in training too, yet he’s never seriously considered when talking about the second tier of greats – after Pele, Maradona and Zidane, people tend to discuss Cruyff, Best, Charlton, Di Stefano and plenty of others, but never Muller (certainly not in England anyway). Yet he was the most reliable and devastating player of his generation.He won the Bundesliga four times, the German Cup four times and the European Cup three times (in a row), among other trophies. You could point out that he was playing for Bayern Munich but when he joined them (in 1964), they were still in the second division having won a single title in the 1930s. It’s fair to say that he played a massive part in the history of Germany’s super club.So on to the goals, the first of his big game strikes was in 1970 World Cup. Aged 25, Muller scored a double in “The Game of the Century” – not a bad way to introduce yourself to a global audience. Unfortunately for Gerd, it was in a 4-3 defeat to Italy. He scored two goals in extra time which in any normal circumstances should have been enough to win a game, not in that game though, as Italy scored three. He did at least finish the tournament as the Top Scorer with 10 goals, including the winner in an epic quarter final against 1966 conquerors, England. Regarded as a better team than the 1966 champions, Muller capped off a comeback from 2-0 down to put West Germany through. He wasn’t to be denied though, and four years later, on home soil he would have his moment of glory. After scoring in the Final Group stage games against Yugoslavia and then the winner against Poland in what was effectively a semi final, this happened:

Although he didn’t quite get the golden boot, he did score the winning goal in the final against Johan Cruyff’s much fancied Holland, and in scoring his 14th World Cup goal, he became the top scorer in World Cup history – a record that stood for 32 years until Ronaldo took the crown (it took him an extra World Cup).That made it an impressive double as Muller also top scored as West Germany won Euro ’72, including two goals in the Final against Russia. Before that he’d scored a double against Belgium to put his country through.For his club team, Bayern won three consecutive European Cups from 1974-1976 and Muller was once again instrumental in all three wins. The 1974 tournament saw him score in the semi final against Dozsa of Hungary before they faced Atletico Madrid. After the Final ended 1-1, Bayern won the replay 4-0 with a brace from our man Muller. And to prove that he wasn’t just the poacher he was made out to be, he scored two brilliant goals, one from a van Basten-esque angle after a great first touch, and the second a classy lob that he really should have taken more time on:

A year later, he and they faced Don Revie’s Leeds team led by Billy Bremner in France. Despite only finishing the German league in 10th positon, Muller and his team mates managed to shake off their poor domestic form to win 2-0 – Muller scoring the second. It was a game remembered for some unusual refereeing decisions, but Muller didn’t care as he and his team mates won their second successive European Cup. And a year later, they were celebrating again – this time beating Saint Etienne. This time Muller didn’t score in the final, instead saving his impact for the semi finals against Real Madrid – scoring once away and twice at home as Bayern knocked out the one time dominant force in the competition.He was also known mistakenly as “Short Fat Muller” after a hilarious lost in translation moment, but what was never in doubt was his ability to influence the biggest games in football. Pressure was not an issue for him. He was quite simply the most prolific big game scorer that’s ever played football.

Friday, 10 August 2012

Finally into the Top 10, and the big guns are out, with seven World Cup Final goals between the next five players, plus a Copa Libertadores legend. For 20-11 see HERE

10. Eusebio (Portugal) 1957-1979 / 23 points – 9 goals

Mozambique born Portuguese legend, Eusebio was one of the most prolific scorers of the 60′s. With a reported 727 goals for Benfica, the lightening quick frontman dominated the Portuguese league, winning eleven titles in his stay with the Lisbon giants. However, it was his performances in the European cup that first brought him to the World’s attention. Playing in four finals and scoring in two of them, Eusebio lifted the trophy just once in 1962. The previous year had seen Benfica end Real Madrid’s reign as Kings of Europe as they beat Barcelona in the Final, and the 1962 Final paired the two of them against each other. Despite Madrid storming into a 2-0 and then 3-2 lead (thanks to a Puskas hat trick), Benfica stormed back to win 5-3 thanks largely to a brace by Eusebio. The man known as the Black Pearl had done this aged just 20 in his first full season with the club.A year later, he was in the thick of it again as he scored against Feyenoord in the semi before notching another Final goal, this time against AC Milan who overturned Eusebio’s goal with a brace by Altafini. He’d suffer further Final heartache to Inter Milan in 1965 and Manchester United in 1968, scoring two semi final goals in both seasons.His stay with Benfica wasn’t always so smooth though. When he signed for them, he alledgedly had to go under an alias to avoid kidnapping, whilst after the 1966 World Cup, Portugal’s dictator Salazar passed a law stating that he wasn’t allowed to leave Portugal after Inter Milan bid a massive $3m for him. In 1966. And whilst on the subject of the 1966 World Cup, Eusebio top scored with nine goals, including a memorable four goals haul versus North Korea. Portugal would eventually bow out at the Semi Final stage where Eusebio’s goal wasn’t enough to stop hosts England progressing to the Final.

9. Mario Kempes (Argentina) 1970-1996 / 24 points – 6 goals

It’s fair to say that the 1978 World Cup brought the best out of Mario Kempes, and especially the big games. Kempes won the golden boot much like Paolo Rossi after him, with all his goals scored in the final stages. Argentina finished the first group stages behind Italy, but in the Final Group stage, Kempes would burst into life. He scored the only goals of the game in a 2-0 win against Poland, before hitting another brace in the 6-0 win over Peru, a result that put them in final ahead of Brazil on goal difference. And of course, it was the Final that would be Kempes’ greatest moment. On home soil, Argentina faced the mighty Dutch who were contesting their second successive Final. Kempes opened the scoring in the 38th minute, only for the Dutch to equalise late on. In extra time, Kempes put the hosts ahead for a second time before it was made safe by Daniel Bertoni. Argentina had won their first ever World Cup, and Kempes had finished top scorer with six goals. You might want to put the video on mute:

In what was a prolific career, Kempes will be best remembered for his time with Valencia which saw him win two Pichichi trophies, a UEFA Cup Winners Cup (versus Arsenal) and the Copa del Rey in 1979, when he scored both goals in a 2-0 win against the mighty Real Madrid. He became something of a journeyman in his later career (that saw him scoring goals into his 40s), taking in spells in Austria, Chile and Indonesia, where he still remained prolific. He went on to play twelve more times for his country, but the extra time goal in the World Cup Final was his last for his country. A big game player when his country needed him most.

8. Vava (Brazil) 1949-1969/ 27 points – 6 goals

And coming in at number eight is Brazilian great Evaldo Izidio Neto, known more widely as Vava. Despite winning just 20 caps for the national team, Vava won the World Cup twice, in 1958 and 1962 and scored nine of his 15 national team goals along the way. Nicknamed Steel Chest (not quite as cool at Zico’s nickname), Vava was known as a goalscorer first and foremost. And he did that very very well. The first man to score in two World Cup Finals (only three others have managed this), he first came to International prominence in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. With Brazil looking to make amends for finishing runners up at home four years earlier, Vava, along with a 17 year old Pele and the mercurial Garrincha, won Brazil’s first World Cup. Aftecr just four minutes, they found themselves 1-0 down in the Final to the hosts, courtesy of a goal from AC Milan’s Nils Liedholm. cometh the hour, cometh the man – Vava stepped up to make sure there would be no repeat of the 1954 disappointment. And despite all of Brazil’s beautiful football, it was two poachers goals from him that firstly equalised, and then put them 2-1 up. Brazil went on to win the game 5-2 and in doing so, would begin a legacy that has seen them become the greatest footballing nation in the history of game.And it shouldn’t be forgotten that he also scored in the Semi Final win against France – once again an important goal, with Vava scoring the opener. And he wasn’t finished there. Four years later he was even more instrumental. He top scored with four goals despite the fact that his first goal wasn’t until the Quarter Final win over England. In the Semi final win against hosts Chile, Vava’s goals were the difference as he scored a brace in a 4-2 win (along with player of the tournament Garrincha). And once again, he was at it again in the Final, scoring the third and final goal as Brazil retained their trophy with a 3-1 win over the Czechs. Once again, it wasn’t a classic Brazilian strike, with Vava this time pouncing on a goalkeeper mistake as seen here.He enjoyed spells with Vasco da Gama, Atletico Madrid and Palmeiras (among others) before moving into coaching, where most notably he was the assistant manager of the 1982 Brazil squad – generally regarded as the best team never to win the tournament.

7.Alberto Spencer (Ecuador) 1953-1972 / 27.5 points – 13 goals

After a few World Cup specialists comes the King of the Copa Libertadores, Alberto Spencer. After spending his whole career in Ecuador and Uruguay (he also represented both countries), he’s somewhat unknown in Europe, despite his prolific scoring record. Even now, he’s the all time Top Scorer in the history of the Copa Libertadores, and it’s his 13 goals in the latter stages of the tournament that warrants his inclusion in the top 10. In total he scored 54 goals in the tournament from 1960 to 1972. Internationally, despite never appearing in a World Cup, he does have the distinction of being the only player to have played and scored simultaneously for two countries. In fact, he swapped between Ecuador and Uruguay no less than four occasions. Nicknamed the Magic Head due to his heading ability, Pele once said of him “Someone that headed better than me was Spencer. I was good, but he was spectacular heading the ball“. He didn’t however, mention problems in the bedroom.And so onto the goals. Spencer scored in four different Copa Libertadores finals, and has a whopping eight Final goals. It should be remembered that Finals were played over two legs, but that’s still an incredible record and the epitome of a big game player. On top of that, he also scored five goals at the Semi Final stages.In 1960, after Spencer scored two goals in the semis, Penarol were facing Olimpia of Paraguay. In the first leg, he scored the first Final goal in the history of the now prestigious tournament – a fitting start for what he’d go on to achieve. That goal proved to be the difference as Penarol won 2-1 on aggregate. A year later, and the opponents had changed (Palmeiras of Brazil) but the outcome was the same. Spencer scored the only goal of a 1-0 first leg win, as Penarol went on to defend their crown with another 2-1 aggregate win. Penarol found themselves in a 3rd successive final in 1962 as they looked set to dominate the tournament the way Real Madrid had done with the European Cup. But it wasn’t to be. Spencer scored three more semi final goals against fellow Uruguayan’s Nacional. In the final, they faced Pele’s Santos, and despite Spencer’s goals in both legs of the Final, the Brazilians went on to win the play off 3-0. Injuries and form meant that Spencer didn’t get to play in another Final until 1966, and once again, he was pivotal. Scoring in the second leg of the final, this time against River Plate, Spencer decided the playoff game with the first and third goals 4-2 win to win his third and final winners medal. Pele wasn’t lying about his heading ability:

6. Ronaldo (Brazil) 1993-2011 / 32 points – 9 goals

It’s probably easiest to just start with the goals for Ronaldo, as they tell a pretty clear story:

He’s played in the Final of four different major tournaments and scored in all of them. Some correctly point out that he never scored in the European Cup Final, to which the simple answer is that he didn’t play in one. The closest he came was with Real Madrid in 2002-03. They ended up losing to Juventus 4-3 on aggregate, with Ronaldo playing and scoring in the 2-1 first leg win, but missing the return match which meant both he missed the chance to play in the Champions League Final, and also that the rest of us had to watch what is one of the worst Finals in the history of the competition. But I digress. This is all about Ronaldo. In my eyes, the pre injury Ronaldo was the best player I’ve ever seen, and had the potential to be the best of all time. Quite a statement I think you’ll agree but when you compare him with say Messi at the same age (19-20) Ronaldo scored 47 goals for Barca whilst Messi scored 17. I know there are plenty of variables to that, but it does tell a story.Unfortunately though, the injury did happen, and football fans of the World had to put up with a bulked up but watered down version of the Brazilian striker, and he didn’t do too badly. Pre injury, he played and scored the only goal in the Cup Winners Cup Final for Barcelona against PSG in 1997. A year later at Inter, he played and scored in the UEFA Cup Final win over a Lazio team containing Nesta, Casiraghi, Nedved and Mancini. The goal showed his trademark rounding of the keeper, something that he seemed to take great joy in doing (as seen here). For Brazil, by the time of his first injury, he’d dazzled all before him with goals and assists in the 1998 World Cup, including a goal in the Semi Final against Holland. Unfortunately, we all know what happened in the Final, though at the same time, we all know what was to come four year later. He’d also scored in the Final of both the 1997 Copa America verus Bolivia and the 1999 Final against Uruguay with this effort – highlighting his ability to finish equally well on his left foot as his right. Pace, Power, Technique and accuracy:After the injury (November 1999), he was visibly different, but he adapted to great success and fulfilled his greatest dream by winning the World Cup in 2002 (after recoevring from a second career threatening injury). And how. Ronaldo scored 8 goals in his 7 games (the highest total since 1970) including the winner in a 1-0 defeat of Turkey in the semi final, before his moment of redemption – the 2002 World Cup Final against Germany. Sure, he had a crap haircut, but look at the hunger for the first goal – winning the ball back (after losing it to be fair), and following up on Rivaldo’s speculative effort. The second was a thing of beauty though.

To be the all time World Cup top scorer, to have scored in two Copa America finals, and two European club finals, and to be the only man to score on both sides of the el Clasico and the Milan derby tells you all you need to know about his big game credentials. Ronaldo was a man for the big occasion. The fact that he did all this and people still talk about what might have been also shows you what a player he was, especially before the injuries. When Zinedine Zidane was asked who was the best player he ever played with or against he didn’t pause when he replied “without hesitation, Ronaldo”

Thursday, 9 August 2012

Next up are the players in 20th to 11th as the countdown of the Top 50 Big Game Scorers continues. Included are a couple of Dutch and a couple of German greats as well as a couple of lesser known players. For numbers 30-21, click HERE

20. Michel Platini (France) 1972-1987 /18 points – 6 goals

I mentioned in a previous articlethat Michel Platini’s performances in the 1984 European Championship were comparable to those of Maradona in Mexico 86. Not everyone agreed it turns out, but I stand by the claim. The European Championships of 1984 were completed dominated by the mercurial midfielder, with Platini scoring 9 goals in just 5 games – a haul that’s still enough for him to be the all time leading scorer in that tournament. And it wasn’t as if he did it against poor teams (See Oleg Salenko’s 5 goals in USA 94). Platini scored in every match – including a winner in the 119th minute against Portugal in the Semi Final, and then the opening goal against Spain in the Final. Part of the magic square midfield for France along with Tigana, Fernandes and Giresse, Platini was the standout performer. From the 1982 World Cup semi final against West Germany, Platini scored in every international knock out game until the 1986 World Cup semi final – or to put it another way, six consecutive games – one of the greatest big game players of all time. To back this up, he was also pretty handy for his club sides, excelling in particular with Juventus. The successor to Liam Brady at the heart of the Juve midfield, he scored in the 1983 European Cup semi final against Lodz, before repeating the trick in 1985 against Bordeaux. In the final, sadly overshadowed by tragedy, he scored the only goal from the penalty spot to win the trophy for Juventus and the golden boot for himself. For the record, Maradona was ranked in joint 65th place on this list.

19. Bobby Charlton (England) 1956-1976 / 18 points – 6 goals

From one prolific midfielder to another, Bobby Charlton’s big game goals are spread across 13 years and three great teams. Part of the Busby Babes team that won the Division One title in 1956-57, Charlton scored a late equaliser at home to the great Real Madrid team of the time in the Semi Final of the European Cup, in just it’s second season. Tragically, that great team would never complete a full season again after the Munich Air Disaster claimed the lives of many of Matt Busby’s league champions. In fact, the last game they played together saw Bobby Charlton score twice in the Quarter Final second leg game against Red Star Belgrade. Ten years later Busby with Bobby Charlton famously won the competition, with Charlton scoring two goals in the Final against Eusebio’s Benfica. A year later, he scored at the semi final stage against eventual champions AC Milan. For England, he also stepped up on the big occasion, with both goals in the 1966 World Cup semi final win over Portugal, as Alf Ramsey’s men lifted the only trophy in England’s history.

18. Paolo Rossi (Italy) 1976-1987 / 18.5 points – 5 goals

When you see Paolo Rossi’s name then there’s a good chance you’d assume the hat trick against Brazil in the 1982 World Cup was the driver behind his lofty position. Well it’s not. It was undoubtedly a big game, and the redemption angle certainly built it up, but as this is the very biggest games (semis and finals), then it doesn’t qualify. Instead, Rossi has a bigger portfolio than suspected. In the 1978 World Cup, Rossi scored in the final group stage match against Austria, he then had an enforced absence for two years before claiming the golden boot in 1982 with 6 goals, all in the knock out stages. After the Brazil hat trick, he hit a double against Poland in the semi final, before scoring the all important opener against West Germany in the Final. In club football, he scored in the semi final aggregate win against Lodz in the 1983 European cup before defeat to Hamburg.

17. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany) 1974-1989 / 18.5 points – 6 goals

A prolific striker, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge enjoyed great career success with Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and West Germany. But it could have been even better. He won the European Cup in 1975 and 1976 with Bayern, but didn’t score in any of the semi finals or either of the finals. He did however score goals in the unsuccessful campaigns of 1981 and 1982 at the semi final stage against firstly Liverpool as Bayern went out on away goals, and then a brace to knock out CSKA Sofia a year later, only to lose to Aston Villa in the final. For his country he played in the three World Cups in between Germany’s wins in 1974 and 1990 – including two Final defeats in 1982 to Italy and 1986 to Argentina. In his first World Cup (1978), he scored the first three of his total nine World Cup goals, with the last of them in the final stage defeat to Austria. Four years later, he scored five goals as West Germany went all the way to final. His most notable goal was in the 3-3 Semi Final against France, with Rummenigge also scoring his penalty. In the 1986 World Cup, he scored in the Final against Maradona’s Argentina, but it wasn’t to be enough as Burruchaga scored the winning goal in the 83rd minute. As a consolation, he does at least have a European Championships medal from 1980.

16. Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) 1964-1984 / 18.5 points – 6 goals

There’s been millions of words written about the football genius that was Johan Cruyff, and there’s not much I can add that hasn’t been said on his ability. But what of his goal scoring in the big games? Well despite not being an out and out striker, the Dutch legend had a very impressive strike rate of a goal every 1.7 games for his clubs, and an even better 33 goals in 48 caps for Holland. And amongst those goals, were six scored in the latter stages of the biggest tournaments. First up was the 1969 European Cup semi final, when he scored the opener in a 3-2 aggregate win over Czechoslovakian Champions Spartak Trnava, before losing to AC Milan in the Final. He and his Ajax team mates wouldn’t have to wait too long for that first title though, following on Feyenoord’s lead, they lifted the trophy in 1971, 1972 and 1973 and it was the second of that hat trick of wins that saw Cruyff really hit the big time. In what’s been described as Total Football’s greatest moment, Ajax defeated Italian giants Inter Milan 2-0 in the final with Cruyff scoring both the goals – one an open goal, the second a towering header at the back post, not quite the beautiful goals you’d expect, but very important nonetheless. For his country, he had a massive impact on the 1974 World Cup, scoring three goals in the Final Group stage, propelling Holland to the Final. His double against Argentina was followed up with the second against Brazil in what was essentially a semi final. Sadly for football lovers, he didn’t play in the 1978 tournament, but he still left his mark on the biggest stages.

15. Diego Forlan (Uruguay) 1997-Current / 19 points – 6 goals

Ready for another current player? Step forward Diego Forlan. Almost unrecognisable from the young forward that spent three seasons with Manchester United, Forlan who is currently playing in Brazil with Internacional, has been one of the best front men in World Football for the last five years, and has the goals to back this up. Having scored in both semi final legs against Liverpool, the first of these big game goals was in the 32nd minutedof the 2010 Europa League Final against Roy Hodgson’s Fulham. The second was in the same match, and an extra time winner to give Atletico Madrid the trophy. Later on that summer, Forlan scored five goals in the World Cup, with the biggest being the equaliser in the semi final against Holland. Sadly for him and his countrymen, Holland went on to win the game, though Forlan’s goal in the quarter final also pointed to a big game temperement. Fast forward 12 months and he was the star of the 2011 Copa America as Uruguay won their 15th South American title, but more importantly, their first since 1995. Forlan combined with Luis Suarez to form a devastating partnership that scored all the goals in the Semi Final and Final of the tournament, as Forlan scored a brace against Paraguay to win the silverware for his country.

14. Paul Breitner (Germany) 1970-1983 / 19.5 points – 6 goals

We’ve already seen Rummenigge in the list, and just 3 places later is the other player who made up the FC Breitnigge partnership, Paul Breitner. It’s not the catchiest moniker, but it does illustrate the importance of the partnership that the pair struck up for both Bayern Munich and Germany. The interesting thing about Breitner’s inclusion this high up the list is that he played mainly as a left back (albeit cavalier) before moving into midfield. His first major impact on the big game scoresheet was in the 1974 World Cup where the 23 year old left back scored in the Final Group stage game against Yugoslavia in a 2-0 win. He then went on to score in the Final with just the second penalty ever awarded in a World Cup Final – 23 minutes after the first as West Germany went on to win the tournament. Fast forward to 1982 with Breitner back at Bayern after spells with Real Madrid and Eintracht Braunschweig and he was back amoung the big game goals. The 1982 European Cup saw Breitner as a midfield captain and he led by example in the semi finals, scoring three goals across the two legs against CSKA Sofia (he and Rummenigge scoring all four goals in the home leg). He’d feel the heartache of a final defeat in both that tournament and the World Cup that summer, as West Germany lost in the Final to Paolo Rossi’s Italy – though Breitner did become only the third player to score in two World Cup finals, behind Vava and Pele (only Zidane has managed it since).

13. Dieter Muller (Germany) 1972-1989 / 20.5 – 7 goals

No big game scorers list would be complete without West Germany’s Muller. And this is no different, except that this isn’t the Muller that everyone knows. No, this is Dieter Muller rather than Gerd (no relation). And you have to feel a bit sorry for him as he’s something of a nearly man. Although he had a prolific career, he was always in the shadow of his namesake despite being the top scorer in Germany for both the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons. He also had the record for most goals in a Bundesliga match, scoring six goals in Cologne’s 7-2 win over Werder Bremen – only there were no cameramen to record it due to a strike. He only won 12 caps for West Germany (scoring 9 times), but he certainly made the most of his time with national team. His greatest moments in football came in the 1976 European Championships. With Gerd Muller now retired from the national team, Dieter had his chance to shine, and shine he did winning the golden boot. He scored a hat trick in the Semi Final against Yugoslavia with the latter two strikes coming in extra time to win it the game 4-2. And on the biggest stage of his career, he scored his country’s first goal as they drew 2-2 with the Dutch conquering Czechoslovakia team. Sadly for Muller though, the tournament is known for Panenka’s penalty. Two years later in the 1978 World Cup, Mulller scored two more goals, one in the final group stage in a 2-2 draw against finalists Holland. The fact that six of his nine international goals were in major tournaments suggests he wasn’t troubled by nerves. For his clubs, despite never playing for any of Europe’s giants, he scored in the 1979 European Cup semi final defeat to Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest for Cologne, and then repeated his goalscoring semi final heartbreak in 1985, for Bordeaux against Juventus. Both occasions saw his team miss out on reaching the final by one goal. A prolific but very unlucky scorer.

12. Ademir (Brazil) 1939-1957 / 21 points – 6 goals

According to the South American football expert Tim Vickery, Ademir (full name Ademir Marques de Menezes) was one of Brazil’s greatest ever strikers and looking at his performances in the 1950 World Cup, it’s easy to see why. Ademir scored nine goals in just six games, as the hosts bulldozed everyone before them, except in the Final game against Uruguay. Perhaps this is why Ademir’s name isn’t as well known as it should be. At the height of his powers aged 28, six of his nine World Cup goals came in the final group stages. Firstly, he scored a massive four goals in the 7-1 win against Sweden before following it up with a brace in a 6-1 win over Spain. He won the golden boot but had to settle for a runners up medal as Uruguay produced a massive upset. Having made his professional debut in 1939, you have to wonder what he could have acheived on the World stage had World War II not halted the 1942 and 1946 editions, where Ademir would have been 20 and 24 respectively. In total, he scored a very decent 32 goals in 39 appearances for his country, including a hat trick in a play off final versus Paraguay in 1949 to win an early Souh American championship (before the Copa America was officially set up in 1975).

11. Marco van Basten (Netherlands) 1981-1993 / 21 points – 8 goals

Just outside the top ten is a player that many regard as the greatest striker of modern times. Marco van Basten played his last match aged just 28, but had already won the European Player of the Year award three times, and the World Player of the Year title once. Known as a finisher of the highest quality, comfortable on either foot and aerially, van Basten still managed to score eight goals on the biggest stages despite his short career. The first being the winning goal in the 1987 European Cup Winners Cup Final as Ajax beat East Germany’s Lokomotive Leipzig to win their first European trophy since Cruyff’s team in 1973. After a prolific 154 goals in 175 games for the Amsterdam club, van Basten joined AC Milan in 1987 with fellow countrymen Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard joining a year later. Together, they helped restore the club into the giants we know today. And he left his mark on the European Cup. In the 1989 tournament, van Basten top scored with 10 goals, including a goal in both semi final legs against Real Madrid. In the Final, van Basten scored the second and fourth goals in a 4-0 win over Steaua Bucharest as Milan won the title for the first time in 30 years. A year later, van Basten scored a penalty to give AC Milan a 1-0 first leg semi final win over Bayern Munich on their way to second successive title. For his country, he was equally deadly. Scoring 24 goals in 58 appearances, van Basten’s most famous goals were in the Euro ’88. Following a group stage hat trick against England, van Basten scored an 88th minute winner against West Germany in the semi final before doing this in the Final:Injury robbed him of at least five more years at the top, and the rest of us a chance to see a great player end his career properly, but he certainly made the most of his short time.

Wednesday, 8 August 2012

The countdown continues from 30 through to 21. This ten feature four players still active(ish), and some all time greats. For 40-31, clickHERE

Cristiano Ronaldo makes the Top 50 Big Game Scorers – ahead of Lionel Messi…..for now

30. Sandro Mazzola (Italy) 1960-1977 / 15 points – 6 goals

Son of the great Valentino Mazzola of Torino and sadly the Superga air disaster, Sandro Mazzola was a great in his own right. Part of ‘Le Grande Inter’, he had a massive impact on the golden era of Inter Milan under Helanio Herrera. Despite the defensive tactics employed by the team, Mazzola was a regular scorer from the outside right position and especially so in the European Cup. An integral part of Inter’s run of three finals in four years from 1964-67, he scored some of the most crucial goals in that time. Facing European giants Real Madrid complete with Di Stefano, Amaro, Gento and Puskas in the 1964 Final, Mazzola was the difference with two goals in a famous 3-1 win, coming after his two goals in the Semi finals put Inter through against Borussia Dortmund. A year later, it was Mazzola’s away goal in the semi final away to Liverpool that made the difference on aggregate as the Italians defended their crown. Fast forward to 1967 and Mazzola scored in the final again although this time it would end in defeat to the Lisbon Lions of Celtic.

Eagle eyed readers will have noticed Kurt Hamrin’s pretty impressive four goal tally in UEFA Cup Winners Cup Finals – in fact it’s the joint highest in the history of the competition. Joint with Rob Rensenbrink. The left winger took an unusual career path, when you see a Dutch player from the 70′s featuring on this list then there’s a good chance he was part of the great Ajax team. Oh no. Rensenbrink played for AFC Door Wilskracht Sterk in Holland from 1965 to 1969 before moving to FC Brugge in Belgium. Surprise number two is that he joined big rivals FC Anderlecht after just two seasons. And it’s with Anderlecht that he shone – winning the Belgian league twice, as well as the Belgian Cup, and most importantly for this list, two Cup Winners Cup medals. In the 1976 Final, it was Rensenbrink that scored twice to deny West Ham their second European trophy in a 4-2 win. A defeat the following season in the Final was forgotten just a year later as they defeated Austria Vienna 4-0 with Rensenbrink scoring the all important first and second goals. His other big game entries came in the Final Group stages of the 1974 and 1978 World Cups where he scored against East Germany and Austria respectively. He could however have been a lot higher up the list and in the list of greats had it not been for a few inches. The 1978 World Cup final was stuck at 1-1 with hosts Argentina competing with Holland. Resenbrink was able to play in his preferred wide left of the front three due to Cruyff’s absence. With just 30 seconds left, this happened:A few inches to the right and Rensenbrink would have scored the winning goal for the first time in Holland’s history and finished as the tournament’s top scorer. Instead, people talk about how they would have won it with Cruyff. Football can be a cruel game. In the words of Jan Mulder, his Holland and Anderlecht team mate “Robbie Rensenbrink was as good as Cruyff, only in his mind he was not”.

28. Hernan Crespo (Argentina) 1993-Present / 15 points – 6 goals

Now onto someone a bit more current – just. Hernan Crespo is currently a free agent (at the time of writing) after leaving Parma, though aged 37 it’s just a matter of time before he hangs up the boots. Perhaps, understandably compared to Argentine team mate Gabriel Batistuta, Crespo was once the holder of the World Record Transfer fee when he moved to Lazio for £35m in 2000. Famous for his off the ball movement, he was a clinical finisher and especially in the big games. Most notably in the 2005 Champions League Final, scoring two goals to put AC Milan 3-0 up. That didn’t end particularly well for him and his team mates, but his second goal was one of the best finishes seen on the big stage:The previous year also saw him score in the semi final stage against Monaco for Chelsea, whilst in 1999 he scored the opening goal in the UEFA Cup Final as a star studded Parma team demolished Marseille 3-0. And to confirm his big game credentials, 1996 saw Crespo’s brace in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores Final to win the tournament for River Plate, for only the second time in their history. Final goals in three major competitions leaves his place in the list unquestioned.

27. Marcelo Delgado (Argentina) 1990-2010 / 15.5 points – 6 goals

Very much a Copa Libertadores specialist, Marcelo Delgado was not prolific striker (his 18 caps for Argentina produced no goals), but he was very much a man for the big occasion. Only two men in the history of football have scored more Copa Libertadores Final goals – Uruguay’s Alberto Spencer (more on him later) and Coutinho of Brazil (#42). Delgado’s first came in the 2001 Final when Boca Juniors faced Mexican side Cruz Azul. Delgado scored the away goal as the Argentines won in Mexico, only for the second leg to end in a reverse. Penalties ensued, and as befitting of a big game player, Delgado scored what would prove to be the winning penalty to give Boca their 4th title. Two seasons later he was at it again, this time scoring in the semi final win against Colombia’s America de Cali before an all Argentine team beat Santos 5-1 on aggregate. Alongside Carlos Tevez in attack, Delgado scored three final goals (two at home, one away). He then briefly left the club for a one season spell with Cruz Azul where he formed a partnerhip with Delgado (Cesar) before returning to Boca for 2005-06. In all, he won three Libertadores medals with the Buenos Aires team, who have won the trophy six times in their history.

26. Juan Alberto Schiaffino (Uruguay) 1943-1962/ 16 points – 6 goals

The Uruguayan and some time Italian international (that sort of thing was a lot more common back then) was part of the Maracanazo final of 1950. With Brazil leading it was Schiaffino that struck the equaliser in the high pressure Final against the hosts. Uruguay would go on to claim their third crown, much to the World’s surprise, with a goal from Ghiggia (51st on this list). For his club teams the forward excelled for Penarol in Uruguay but it was after a move to AC Milan in the mid 50′s that he’d score more high profile goals. He hit one in the 1956 European Cup semi final defeat to Real Madrid who were taking their first step to becoming the greatest team in competition’s history. Two years later he hit two more at the semi final stage to knock out a Manchester United that were tragically weakened by the Munich air disaster. In the Final Shiaffino actually put the Italians 1-0 up, but it wasn’t to be as the game ended 2-2 after 90 minutes and 3-2 to Madrid after extra time, thanks to Gento.

25. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 2002-Present / 16 points – 7 goals

Ronaldo has an unfair reputation of being something of a flat track bully. But fear not Cristiano, you’ve made it into the Top 50 big game scorers, which is one of, if not the biggest achievement in football. He’s specialised in the Champions League with a semi final goal against AC Milan in 2007, followed by a brace at the same stage in 2009 against Arsenal, and then another two in this year’s semi final against Bayern, this time for Real. The biggest goal came in the 2008 final against Chelsea as United completed a memorable double when Ronaldo scored one of his famous headers. A year later, he didn’t score in the Final, but was Man Utd’s best player and the only one that put any real pressure on the Barca goal. For his country, a semi final strike for Portugal on home soil in Euro 2004 is the biggest goal he scored as they qualified for the Final, and if you point to the winning goal in the Copa del Rey Final (2011) against Barcelona and an FA Cup final goal against Millwall, then you have a case for the defence. In short, he’s not a bottler.

Despite spending a large chunk of his career in Spain with European regulars Barcelona and Villarreal, all of Riquelme’s big game goals have come in South American games, for club and country. A gifted if slightly lazy number 10, Riquelme specialised in dictating play and set pieces. A legend at Boca Juniors where he’s sometimes been seen as a disruptive influence (it is rumoured that team mate Martin Palermo retired instead of playing another season with him), the talented number 10 and Scarface impersonator brought back the good times to Boca. Scoring in the semis on the way to Boca’s first title in years (alongside Delgado), he would go on to do so again on his return to Argentinean football with semi final goals in both 2007 and 2008. But it was for his contribution to the 2007 final that would result in a statue being erected in his honour. Facing Brazil’s Gremio, Boca won the first leg 3-0 with Riquelme scoring the second. In the second leg, the playmaker scored both goals to give Boca a 5-0 win. Impressive. For his country, he often played second fiddle to Veron and Aimar but was on target in the Copa America semi final of 2007 against Mexico on the way to defeat in the final against Brazil.

23. Hector Rial (Spain) 1947-1964 / 17 points – 7 goals

Another of the great Real Madrid side of the 1950′s, Rial joined Real from fresh from winning the Uruguayan championship with Nacional. Born and bred in Argentina (although he played for Spain), the front man spent seven seasons in the Spanish capital from 1954 to 1961 – neatly coinciding with the five straight European Cup wins. And he had a pretty big part to play in them too. In the Semi Final of the first ever European Cup in 1956, Rial scored the first goal as Madrid knocked out Milan 5-4 on aggregate, and in the final, would score both an equaliser and the winning goal as they defeated Stade Reims 4-3. Not content with being the man to make the difference in the biggest club game ever played, he scored two semi final goals the following year – this time home and away against Matt Busby’s Manchester United before Real would claim the trophy against Fiorentina. In the 1957-58 competition he scored a 79th minute equaliser as Real came from behind to beat AC Milan to win their third successive trophy. He was scoring not only in the big games, but decisive goals. By the time the 1958-59 season had come around, the tournament had grown from 16 teams to 28, not that it made any difference to Rial and Madrid. He scored the equaliser in the semi final stage against city rivals Atleti before claiming another winners medal in the final. Sure, his international career wasn’t much to write home about (5 caps and 1 goal for Spain), but when it came to performing in the big matches, Rial was a man to rely on.

22. Alessandro Del Piero (Italy) 1988-Current / 17 points – 7 goals

There’s always been a feeling of Del Piero going missing in the big games (regular readers may remember these stats), but that’s only when taking his ability into account. The fact that he’s still 22nd on the all time list of Big Game Scorers suggests that maybe he has been a man for the big occasion. Hi first big game goal came in the 1997 Champions League Final against Borussia Dortmund as Juventus lost their crown as the Champions of Europe. Fast forward to the 1997-98 competition, and Del Piero was top scorer with 10 goals. In particualr, he absolutely dominated the semi final stage – hitting a hat trick in the first leg at home to Monaco, before soring his fourth against them in the return leg. Unfortunately for him and Juve, despite reaching their third successive final, they’d lose 1-0 to Real Madrid and a goal from Pedrag Mijatovic. He wasn’t quite done there though, as he scored in the semi final of the 2002-2003 tournament, getting revenge on Real as they were defeated 4-3 on aggregate. In the final, despite scoring his penalty in the shoot out with AC Milan, he ended up with his third runners up medal in seven years. Even more disappointing is that Juve had finished a massive 16 points ahead of their conquerors in Serie A. For the natioanl team, Del Piero famously missed two good opportunities as France came from behind to win Euro 2000 in extra time, but he would have redemption in the shape of World Cup semi final goal against hosts Germany in 2006.

21. Romario (Brazil) 1985-2009 / 17.5 points – 6 goals

World Player of the Year? Check. World Cup Golden Boot? Check. Scorer of 1000 goals? Check. All things point to a natural inclusion for Romario on this list. His most important goal came in the 1994 World Cup semi final win against Sweden to Brazil in their first final for 24 years. He also scored his penalty in the World Cup Final shoot out better known for Baggio’s miss. Aside from 1994, Romario also popped up with some valuable goals on the way to winning the Copa America in 1989 and again in 1997. The 1989 edition saw final group stage goals against bitter rivals Argentina, Paraguay and then in the final group game to decide the winners against Uruguay. Eight years later and with the tournament back in a knock out format, Romario scored a double in the semi final as Brazil scraped past Peru 7-0 on the way to winning the tournament. Big game scorer then?Well maybe, but if you’ve claimed to have scored 1000 goals (including youth matches and presumably headers and volleys in the back garden), surely you should have scored more than six goals in the Finals and Semi Finals of major tournaments? Especially when playing for the likes of Brazil and Barcelona. In fact, when you scrapte the surface, he played in the Finals of the 1994 World Cup, the 1994 Champions League, and the 1997 Copa America, but didn’t score. Fair enough, you can’t be expected to score in every match, but when you say that you’re better than Messi, and equal to Pele, Maradona and Zidane, then you should probably be able to back it up a bit better. More on Messi vs Romario (and Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho)here.

Tuesday, 7 August 2012

The next 10 players to feature include the World’s best player, a few Ajax legends, England’s first entry and the odd Brazilian here and there. For numbers 50-41, click HERE.

40. Andreas Brehme (West Germany) 1978-1998 /13 points – 3 goals

“I think people dwell on that penalty in 1990 a little too much. We deserved to win. Argentina didn’t play well enough in the Final and that is the long and the short of it“Well Andy, the reason people dwell on that goal is because a left footed player took a penalty in the final of the World Cup with just five minutes left, on his right foot. That is ballsy.In reality, Brehme was pretty much both footed, he took free kicks on his left foot and the odd penalty on his right. That’s all well and good, but to do it on the biggest stage to win the game is something else completely. There’s a big game temperament and then there’s showing off. Even Ibrahimovic would think twice before trying a stunt like that. His other two big stage goals were at the semi final stage of both the 1986 World Cup and then four years later against England in Italia ’90 – both were free kicks on his left foot. He scored 8 goals for his country (pretty good for a left back), five of which were in either the World Cup or Euros. Quite simply, he was a big game player.

39. Lionel Messi (Argentina) 2005-Present / 13 points – 5 goals

Strange as it may seem, there were still question marks over whether or not Messi was the best player in the World as recently as 2009. They said that Ronaldo could do everything Messi could but could score headers as well. Then in May 2009, Messi scored his first Champions League final goal – a back post header that was expertly directed back across goal and over van der Sar. The arguments stopped pretty soon after that. The dominant force in the recent history of the Champions League, Barcelona have won titles in 2006, 2009 and 2011, with Messi also scoring in the 2011 final, as well as two semi final goals against Real Madrid. Sure, he hasn’t quite been as devastating with his national team, but a recent hat trick against Brazil has hinted at a change there as well. To date, his biggest goal for Argentina was in the semi final of the 2007 Copa America. There’s still a lot of time to go though.

38. Jari Litmanen (Finland) 1987-2011 / 13 points – 6 goals

If Messi has been the most consistent scorer in high profile Champions League games of the past few years, then Jari Litmanen was his equivalent in the mid 90s. A winner with Ajax in 1995, the diminutive forward scored two in the semi’s that year. He went a step further a year later, repeating a semi double but also notching in the final against Juventus which won him the Golden Boot. Ajax lost it on penalties though Litmanen did score his. In 1997 he scored once again in the semi’s but it wasn’t enough to take the Amsterdam club to their third successive final, and brought to an end a great team. He went on to play for Barcelona and Liverpool, and is the only player to play international football in four different decades, with the 90s being the high point.

37. Jonny Rep (Netherlands) 1971-1987 / 13.5 points – 4 goals

Something of a troublesome character at Ajax (daring to question Johan Cruyff’s tactics when still a youngster), Rep was never short in self belief, and to be fair, he could back it up. Although his Ajax career was a lot shorter than it should have been (41 goals from 97 games), he did manage to score a pretty famous goal. In the third of three successive European Cup wins, it was Rep that scored the only goal as they beat Juventus 1-0 in Belgrade. He left Amsterdam in 1975 for spells with Valencia, Bastia, and St. Etienne (among others), but never again reached the heights of that night. For Holland he also performed well in the 1974 and 1978 World Cups as they lost in the final of both. He’s still the Netherlands top World Cup scorer with seven World Cup goals, and three of those came in the final group stages (no knock out games in either tournament), against Argentina in 1974 and a brace against Austria in 1978

36. Zico (Brazil) 1971-1994 / 13.5 points – 5 goals

When you have the nicknames “God of Soccer” and “The White Pele” then you know you’re a pretty good player. In fact Pele himself once said “throughout the years, the one player that came closest to me was Zico” which was both pretty arrogant but also not really worth much based on some of his previous quotes (“God gave Freddy Adu the gift to play soccer” – really?). Either way, Zico was the mutt’s nuts. The heartbeat of the 1982 side thought to be the best team never to win the tournament, he was prolific from midfield, scoring 52 goals for Brazil in just 72 games. He bagged four in the 1982 World Cup alone, but as Brazil didn’t get past the Quarter Final (damn you Paolo Rossi!), his only national team goal to make the list was in the Final Group stages of the 1978 World Cup where he scored against Peru. The rest of his entries were down to his biggest success as a player – the 1981 Copa Libertadores. In the first leg of the final, Zico scored a double against Cobreloa of Chile to give Flamengo a 2-1 lead. The second leg ended 1-0 to the Chileans, meaning a one off final was to be played in a neutral venue (Uruguay). Once again Zico scored two goals, this time without reply, to win the trophy for the Brazilians and finish the tournament on 11 goals.

35. Johan Neeskens 1968-1991 (Netherlands) / 14 points – 4 goals

Known as “Johan the Second”, Neeskens played alongside Cruyff for Ajax, Barcelona, and Holland. Initially a right back in his early Ajax days, Neeskens matured into a centre midfielder of high work rate which was equalled by his ability. A regular scorer from deep, Neeskens could be counted on for the big occasion. He scored the third goal in the 1971 European Cup semi final against Atletico Madrid as Ajax went on to win the trophy for the first time. For his country, he also delivered on the big stage, scoring in the 1974 Final Group Stage against East Germany on the way to a 2-0 win before facing Brazil in what was effectively the semi final. Neeskens put Holland 1-0 up in the 50th minute before Johan the First finished off the World Champions. In the Final, Neeskens continued to show his big game prowess by opening the scoring once more against West Germany. Unfortunately for him and the rest of the Dutch, they lost to their bitter rivals 2-1.

34. Chico (Brazil) 1939-1956/ 14 points – 4 goals

Francisco Aramburu, better known as Chico, was part of the great Vasco de Gama team of 1947-52. Known as the Victory Express due to five title wins, Vasco had the lightning quick Chico up front (wide left) forming a deadly partnership with national team mate Ademir. And it was the Vasco pair that would dominate the Final Group stages of the 1950 World Cup. Brazil walked through the first group stage, undefeated and scoring 8 goals along the way. And things would get better. Chico scored a brace in a 7-1 demolition of Sweden, and repeated the trick in the next game - a 6-1 trouncing of Spain. Going into the final group game, in what was essentially the World Cup final, Uruguay had only drawn with Spain, and snuck past Sweden with an 85th minute winner. Brazil were heavy favourites, with the media claiming a victory on front pages of that day’s newspapers. People were having street parties in anticipation of Brazil’s first World Cup. But Uruguay had other ideas. In front of a world record crowd at the Maracana (200,000+), it wasn’t to be Chico’s time, nor Ademir’s for that matter. In a game that would go on to be known as the Maracanazo (the Maracana Blow), Uruguay run out 2-1 winners with neither of the prolific Vasco boys on the scoresheet. No pressure for 2014 then….

33. Kurt Hamrin (Sweden) 1952-1972 / 14 points – 6 goals

If you think about early Swedes in Serie A, then it’s more than likely that you think of Gre-No-Li, the AC Milan trio of the 1950s. That however, would be doing a disservice to Kurt Hamrin. The lightning fast winger had a pretty impressive career in Italy with Juve, Padova, AC Milan, Napoli and above all, Fiorentina. He scored over 150 goals for the Viola including goals in the final of the European Cup winners cup in both 1961 and 1962 (beating Rangers and losing to Atleti). In fact that seemed to be his favoured competition as he also scored a final brace for AC Milan in 1968′s 2-0 win over Hamburg – only Milan’s second European trophy. To cap things off from a big game perspective, he also scored the decisive goal in the European Cup semi final in 1969 to knock out holders Manchester United, on the way to lifting the trophy. And for his country he also performed well in the 1958 World Cup on home soil – scoring in the semi final against West Germany.

32. Geoff Hurst (England) 1959-1979/ 15 points – 3 goals

The only entry that scored all of his points in one game, (Sir) Geoff Hurst is known the world wide as being the only man to score a hat trick in the biggest of all games – the World Cup Final. Not just that, but it was also a perfect hat trick. Bouyed by the home Wembley crowd, Hurst and his West Ham England team mates won the nation’s only trophy (excluding 1997′s famous Le Tournoi). And yet it was almost so different for Geoff. If it wasn’t for the last minute equaliser by Wolfgang Weber for West Germany then Martin Peters would have been the match winner after his 78th minute goal. In fact, had it not been for injury, Jimmy Greaves would have been England’s centre forward for the latter stages of the tournament. It’s a funny old game. Its easy to forget that Hurst’s England career aside from the 1966 World Cup (where he also scored the winner in the quarter final) was pretty good – 24 goals in 49 games. Just to prove that ol’ Geoff wasn’t a one game wonder, he also scored in the 1964 FA Cup final for the Hammers.

31. Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) 1943-1961 / 15 points – 5 goals

To give a rough idea of just what a great Goalscorer Kocsis was, there’s a few stats that tell the story. He was the first man to score two hat tricks in one World Cup. His strike rate of 1.1 goals per game for Hungary is the best in the history of international football for those with 43 caps or more. And lastly, he was the highest scorer in the top leagues of world football in both 1951 and 1952. Prolific doesn’t really do him justice. Yet the 1954 World Cup was a bittersweet experience for him and the magic Magyars. Whilst he scored a massive 11 goals in 5 games, the only game he failed to score in was against Germany in the Final. A team they’d beaten 8-3 in the earlier rounds defied the odds and the Olympic Champions, unbeaten in competitive games for four years, lost at the worst time. By 1958, Kocsis was at Barcelona, trying to counter Puskas’ influence at rivals Madrid. The European Cup would elude them until 1992 but the Hungarian striker did score in the 1960 semi final and again a year later as well as scoring in the 1961 Final defeat to Benfica.

Monday, 6 August 2012

And the countdown begins. 1071 scorers, 62 years, and 1,931 goals. This is the countdown of the Top 50 Big Game Scorers. To see the other pages with rules and workings, click HERE

Treble Dutch – All three of these players have scored in major finals, but only two make the Top 50

50.Karl-Heinz Riedle (Germany) 1983-2001 / 12 Points – 4 Goals

To kick things off is the first of many German players to feature in the list (see the stats section later). Riedle enjoyed spells with Werder Bremen, Lazio, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool before finishing his illustrious career at Fulham in 2001. Not someone that would jump out as a big game player to fans of the Premier League, the Germany International popped up with some notable goals in his career. The most memorable being his brace in the final of the 1997 Champions League. Playing for Borussia Dortmund against holders Juventus, complete with new signing Zidane behind Vieri and Boksic (a frontline so good that Del Piero was only on the bench), Riedle put Dortmund 2-0 up after just 34 minutes. Del Piero got one back before Lars Ricken’s classy lob sealed the win for the German team to give Rielde and new Aston Villa manager, Paul Lambert, winners medals. His other big game goals came in the Semi Final of Euro ’92, when his brace was once again the difference as Germany beat hosts Sweden 3-2, which was enough to see him share the golden boot with three strikes overall, though they would lose famously to Denmark in the final. He also scored in the 1989 German Cup Final for Werder Bremen in a 4-1 defeat against future club Dortmund. Sadly for Riedle, he’s not even the highest ranked Karl Heinz on the list.

49.Ruud Gullit (Netherlands) 1979-1998 / 12 points – 4 goals

Not an out and out striker, he was once described as the Dutch Duncan Edwards due to his versatility and quality. He eventually settled as a number 10 and certainly delivered on the big stage. The former PSV Eindhoven and Chelsea star is best remembered for his time in Italy with AC Milan where he linked up with fellow Dutchmen Rijkaard and van Basten. And it’s with Milan that he scored a brace in a 4-0 thumping of Hagi’s Steaua Bucharest in the the European Cup Final of 1989, after scoring in the Semi Final demolition of Real Madrid (5-0). However, the goal he’s most famous for, and on perhaps his biggest stage was in the Final of Euro 88 with that iconic header (before an even more iconic volley by his strike partner). The fact that such a great footballing nation has only won one title (I’m not talking about England), makes this goal even more important. The dreadlocks also made it look a lot cooler.

48. Horst Hubresch (Germany) 1971-1986 / 12 points – 4 goals

Not quite the household name as Gullit (unless you lived in the Hubresch house), the tall West Germany Centre Forward was known for his aerial prowess, and it was with his head that he scored two of his biggest goals, winning the Euro 1980 final with a 2-1 win over Belgium. The second goal was in the 88th minute, to win the whole tournament for the Germans. The surprising thing is that he’d never been capped before 1980, not that nerves seemed to have affected him. Just a few months earlier, he also scored two semi final goals in the European Cup as Hamburg made the final against Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest, only to get injured on the way to defeat. Described as The Monster, the big frontman also showed his big game temperament with the winning penalty in the 1982 World Cup Semi Final with France, a game famous for Harald Schumacher’s assisination attempt on Patrick Battiston.

47. Fernando Torres (Spain) 2001-Current / 12 points – 4 goals

The first current player to feature on the list, El Nino hasn’t had a good time of it since his £50m move to Chelsea in January 2011, but the green shoots of recovery started to show near the end of the 2011-12 season. Torres’ big game goals have a neat symmetry to them, scoring a Champions League Semi Final goal for Liverpool in 2008, followed that summer by a goal in the European Championships Final. Four long years passed without any other big game goals, including a miserable 2010 World Cup, but a change in fortune came in the Second Leg of the 2011-12 Champions League Semi-Final away at Barcelona. Ten man Chelsea were under immense pressure from the European Champions, with the score level on aggregate at 2-2 but Chelsea ahead on away goals. This was a big game, and this was big pressure – then came the moment of redemption, after Torres lost the ball on the left wing, he found himself out of position, just in time for a clearance to fall at his feet with half the pitch and no opponent between him and Victor Valdes. If he’d missed then you would have feared for his future and mental stability, but Torres went round the Barca keeper to confirm Chelsea’s progression to the final, and give Gary Neville a man crush. Just a few short months later, he became the first player to score in consecutive European Championships Finals, as Spain brushed Italy aside 4-0. That made it three tournaments in a row for the Spanish national team, but only possible with Torres’ winner in the 2008 Final against Germany.

46. Amancio Amaro (Spain) 1958-1976 / 12 points – 5 goals

Moving on neatly from the man that revived Spain’s fortunes to a man that had a big hand in their first International title. Amancio Amaro had the bad luck to join Real Madrid in 1962, just after they’d won five consecutive European Cups. He had to wait until the 1965-66 season before the club won ‘their trophy’ again, scoring the equaliser in the final against Partizan Belgrade in a 2-1 win for the Madrid giants. Three semi final goals in the same competition cement his inclusion, and for his country, it was the extra time winner in the 1964 European Nations Cup (effectively Euro ’64) that proved the most decisive. Playing against Hungary, Amancio struck in the 113th minute to give Spain a 2-1 lead and put them in the final.

45. José Águas (Portugal) 1948-1964 / 12 points – 5 goals

An essential part of Benfica’s golden era alongside Eusebio, Águas scored in both the finals of the 1961 European Cup and the following year’s tournament. A prolific scorer ( 290 goals in 281 games for the Lisbon club), he won the golden boot in Portugal on five occasions. The first big game goal that he scored was in the first leg of the 1961 European Cup Semi-Final, in a 3-0 win over Rapid Vienna. He repeated the trick again in the second leg, this time ending in a 1-1 draw. In the final, Benfica would face the mighty Barcelona, who were hungrily looking for their first European Cup (they’d have to wait a while longer). Containing the legendary Hungarian trio Kubala, Kocsis and Czibor, the Catalan’s went 1-0 up, only for Águas to show his big game mettle once more and equalise, and take his tally to 11 for the tournament – wining him the golden boot. Benfica went on to win that game 3-2 to win their first European Cup. And the following year he was at it again. He scored Benfica’s goal in a 2-1 defeat to Danny Blanchflower’s Tottenham to put Benfica through to the final on aggregate (4-3), where they’d face another Spanish giant – this time it was Real Madrid, and they wanted their trophy back. Despite a hat trick by Ferenc Puskas, Benfica won 5-3 with Águas once again scoring his team’s first goal. The following year Benfica reached the final for a third successive time, but without an injured Águas, they would lose to AC Milan.

44. Santillana (Spain) 1970-1988 / 12 points – 6 goals

In what appears to be a tribute to Iberian footballers, the next up is another Spanish striker. Similar to Amancio in terms of unlucky timings, Santillana (Carlos Alonso Gonzalez) played for Real Madrid for 17 seasons, only to miss out on the European Cup. Not that he’ll be too worried after 9 league titles, two UEFA Cups and four Copa del reys. It was in the UEFA Cup Finals that he scored two of his biggest goals, with the second in a 3-0 Final win over Hungary’s Videoton (me neither) in 1985, followed a year later with the final goal in a 5-1 lesson for FC Cologne. Of course his lack of European Cup medals wasn’t for the want of trying, with Santillana scoring in two semi final goals in 1980, one the following year, and then again just before retirement in 1987. It wasn’t to be for the talented front man (8th in the all time Spanish league goalscoring list), but it wasn’t a bad career to be fair.

43.Jairzinho (Brazil) 1959-1982 / 12.5 points – 3 goals

The first entry from the legendary 1970 team was arguably their most important player. One of only three players in history to score in every game in a World Cup, Jairzinho stood out, even in the team considered by many to be the greatest of all time – certainly the most entertaining. And it’s from the 1970 World Cup that he scored two of his biggest goals, firstly in the Semi Final against Uruguay, and then he scored the 3rd for Brazil in the final against Italy. Whilst he hero worshipped Garrincha (whom he replaced for Brazil), he wasn’t short of his own confidence, claiming that FIFA had awarded him the ‘Best Body on the Planet’ prize – an award that doesn’t exist, at least not in FIFA (as seen here). I’m not sure whether or not he was a comedy genius or very arrogant but no one can deny he was one of the best of all time. His other major goal came in the 1974 World Cup Final Group stages – a winner against bitter rivals Argentina no less. He wasn’t much of a coach, getting sacked by Gabon in his only Managerial role, he did however make up for this by spotting a 14 year old Brazilian lad by the name of Ronaldo, recommending him to his old club Cruzeiro.

42. Coutinho (Brazil) 1953-1972 / 12.5 points 5 goals

Antonio Wilson Vieira Honorio (better known as Coutinho) is thefootball equivalent of Buzz Aldrin. Sure, a lot of people know his name, but a lot more don’t and should do. Because Countinho’s Neil Armstrong was a fella by the name of Pele. Coutinho was voted Santos’ best ever player – if you exclude Pele. He scored over 370 goals for the team, and was one of the most important players in their team during their golden era of the early 60s. And few had more impact on the team. Of the two Copa Libertadores titles they won in 1962 and 1963, Coutinho scored a whopping five final goals (two in 62/three in 63). It’s a slightly misleading stat as there were three finals in 1962 and two in 1963, but he was certainly a big game player. Just to put it into context, Pele scored three goals in the same five games.

41. Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) 1988-2005 / 13 points 4 goals

One for the fans of 90′s Football Italia programme next. Gabriel ‘Batigol’ Batistuta was arguably the most complete centre forward of his era. Comfortable on either foot and handy in the air, he had a cannon of a shot on him. He spent the best years of his career with unfashionable Fiorentina, who somehow kept him for ten years, resulting in him not playing in the biggest European club games. One of the very few modern era footballers to play for both River Plate and hated rivals Boca Juniors (in that order), his biggest goals came in the blue and white of Argentina. Although he was a regular scorer in World Cups, he never scored in the last two rounds (he was at least the first player to score a hat trick at two World Cups). As a result, his big game scorer entries are all down to Copa America goals. In 1991, the tournament was decided by a final group table instead of a knock out round. Batistuta’s Argentina beat Colombia and Brazil along with a draw against Chile. Batistuta scored the winner against Brazil in a 3-2 victory, and the winner in a 2-1 win over Colombia – a goal that both won the tournament for Argentina, and the golden boot for the talented striker. Skip forward two years and it was Batigol that scored the decisive goals again to win the title for his country, with a brace against Mexico in a 2-1 win. Those aside, he also scored in both legs of the 1996 Coppa Italia Final to bring glory and silverware to Florence. They repaid him with a statue.